


Don't Lie to Me

by floofsta_x



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Based on Real Events, Best Friends, Comfort, Injuries Trigger Warning, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-07
Updated: 2019-09-07
Packaged: 2020-10-11 15:48:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20548676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/floofsta_x/pseuds/floofsta_x
Summary: Kihyun and Minhyuk are by each other's sides through the best times and worst times.A short, feelsy Kihyuk one-shot based on recent real-life events.





	Don't Lie to Me

The microwave beeped, and grabbing the towel from the counter, Kihyun reached up to pull open the door. Carefully retrieving the long, flat cloth bag of sand from within, he hissed as it settled into the palm of his hand. Even through the extra layer of cloth that was supposed to protect his sensitive skin, it was hot to the touch. Well, that wouldn’t do; as eager as he was to get this in to Minhyuk, who really needed it right now, it would have to wait for a while longer. Quickly, he deposited it on the counter in front of him, poking at it with a finger every minute or so. At last, it settled to a more bearable temperature, and the main vocalist hummed in approval. Picking it up once again, he made his way to the room he shared with Minhyuk and Hyungwon.

The first thing Kihyun saw when he walked in was the former of his two roommates, lying on his side in bed. A mixture of regret and pain contorted his face, and the main vocal bit his lip. Earlier that day, during Monsta X’s performance stage at the Fact Music Awards, Minhyuk had hurt his lower back. It was still giving him grief, even now that it had been a while and they had returned to their dorms. The thought of that broke Kihyun's heart, especially imagining the older man suffering through it as he waited for the painkillers to kick in.

When he noticed that Kihyun had returned, Minhyuk glanced over for a second before huffing, pouting, and averting his eyes. “I told you that you didn’t have to do that for me, right? I'll be fine.”

“How are you feeling, Minnie?” Ki asked gently, choosing to completely ignore his friend's protests. "Has lying down helped any?"

Instead of answering right away, Minhyuk curled further into himself. His breathing stuttered with the pain of his movement. "I'm fine...I feel better. Like I wasn't hurt at all."

"Lee Minhyuk, don't lie to me." It came out a bit more harsh than Kihyun wanted, but maybe that was for the best. Minhyuk was exhausted, sulky, and wallowing in self-pity, and honestly all Kihyun wanted was to see him take care of himself. Besides, they didn't have time for any of this bullshit. “Roll onto your stomach, and let me put the heat where your pain is. We're lucky that we have a day to rest, so let's make the most of it and get you healed up."

Finally, Minhyuk relented at Kihyun's no-nonsense tone and with a groan, obeyed. As Kihyun put the hot sandbag on the small of his back, he relaxed palpably. “There we go.” The younger man smiled a bit and reached out to rub Minhyuk’s shoulders. “Soon you’ll be good as new, hm?”

“Maybe.” From one second to the next, Minhyuk’s voice had gone from its usual sassy tone to small and not so confident. He buried his face in his pillow, and then his chest began to shake with sobs, choking his words as they squeezed from his throat. "Why is it always m--me, Kihyunnie? No matter how much I just try and try, I always end up hurt and you're fine."

"It could have happened to any of us," the main vocalist sighed. Though his voice was matter-of-fact as always, he crawled up further onto the bed and laid down next to him. Taking Minhyuk’s hand and lacing their fingers together, he did his best to be reassuring. "And it's not always you. Hoseok hyung overdoes his workouts sometimes. You know, him and his shoulder. We had to perform as five in Abu Dhabi because Changkyunnie got injured, too. Oh, and remember when Hyungwon had to miss part of our American tour for The Code?"

"I guess," Minhyuk grumbled, glancing over at Kihyun and squeezing his fingers gently. His eyes were still wet, and his voice cracked again as he murmured, “Thank you, Kihyun-ah. I don’t know what I’d do if you weren’t here.”

In response, the younger just smiled. “It's the least I could do for my best friend.”

“Good, ‘cuz I better be.” There was that sunshine smile and little giggle that Kihyun had grown so fond of, and he couldn’t help but return it.

Despite the playful, loving sparkle in Minhyuk’s dark pupils, the older’s eyelids were drooping, too, and his grip on Kihyun’s hand loosened ever so slightly. It was obvious that he could no longer resist the pull of sleep and was giving in to his exhaustion. Within the minute, his breathing grew slower and he was doing his little half-awake hum. Again Kihyun reached out to see if the sandbag was still warm, which it was, and rub Minhyuk's back in slow circles. This seemed to be the thing that finally lulled the older to sleep because when Kihyun glanced over next, he was snoring peacefully.

Another rush of fondness consumed the main vocal. Minhyuk could be loud sometimes, but he was also so cute, often in the most candid of ways. Gently placing the older's hand by his head, in a position it often was when he slept, Kihyun bent down to plant a gentle kiss on his temple.

* * *

_Four months later._

Los Angeles was always so big and lively, and Kihyun loved it. This definitely wasn’t his first trip to the city, but it never failed to fill him with a childlike wonder and excitement. He leaned close to the airplane window to catch glimpses of the skyline as they flew in, and insisted on a window seat in the car on the way to their hotel so he could look at it from below, too. Of course, he was also super pumped for their concert, but there was still a little while before that. For now, he was just enthralled with the bright, bustling metropolis.

Time always seemed to pass more quickly in the states, however. Maybe it was the rush of the schedules or the relative unfamiliarity of everything. Yet, before any of them really knew it, they were walking out of their last rehearsal at the Staples Center. In only about twenty-four hours, they would be on stage, in front of tens of thousands of Monbebes, starting their final American World Tour performance. It had been a dream of theirs for so long, one that had seemed impossible four years ago, but now they were here. It was real.

Because they had no other place to be until the morning, everyone had a little free time to do whatever they wanted. Though it was late at night, and Kihyun felt exhausted, he took this opportunity by the horns. Once they were back at their hotel, he almost immediately accosted Minhyuk with a big smile on his face, begging him to come along and explore with him. Of course, the older said yes, and the two of them set off.

Kihyun and Minhyuk easily got sucked into the night lights of Los Angeles, and it made them both high, in a strange way, on its allure. As they picked their way along the streets to Koreatown, they laughed and talked like true tourists. Despite how far it was to their destination, the food that awaited them there was worth it. They’d been here the year before and enjoyed it so much that they wanted to do it again. Minhyuk shelled out some cash for what was practically a feast of street food. After thanking the nice lady who owned the cart, they went to a nearby bench to eat.

Their conversation was rapid-fire, with plenty of joking and smiles. It felt like they were in their own little world as the people and time flowed around them. Among other things, they discussed how big their venue was, a drama Minhyuk was watching and that Kihyun had watched in the past, and when they would do their next cook cook. They often poked fun at each other on and off camera, but it was all in fun, and an essential part of their friendship, which had only grown stronger since debut.

Before long, the food was gone, their bellies were full, and after throwing their trash away, they set off for the hotel again, walking side by side. By now, Kihyun was all but used to having to quicken his strides to match his best friend’s, and so it was nothing at all.

Well--at least, until suddenly the pain in Kihyun's chest that he’d tried to push out of his head for the last two or so weeks flared up with a vengeance. The moment it did, his head got light and foggy, and he slumped forward. He thought he would come crashing to the hard pavement, but then a warm, slender body was there to catch him. A panicked _Kihyun-ah!--_ came to his ears from somewhere far away. He was faintly aware of being half-pulled, half-carried sideways. Gentle but shaking hands guided him down to sit on the sidewalk. Now there was a brick wall against his back, and he let his head loll against it.

As Kihyun’s vision cleared, Minhyuk’s face floated into sight again; the older boy’s brows were knit together with concern. He had Ki’s small hand in his large ones and was holding it tightly, like a lifeline. An unwanted blush crept across Kihyun’s cheeks and he averted his eyes as he pulled himself together.

“Are you okay, Kihyun-ah?” Minhyukie’s voice was gentle, even though he was obviously trying and failing to keep the concern out of it. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing, Min...I’m fine. Just a little bit of--of pain, that’s all.”

“To steal a line that you used on me once, Yoo Kihyun, don’t lie to me.” The younger man knew he was right and nearly crumpled then and there. His eyes brimmed with tears as he bit his lip and lifted his hand to where the pain was strongest. Another warm touch joined it a couple of seconds later, and the older boy asked, earnestly, “I noticed that you wince in choreo rehearsals. Is this why?”

“Yeah...it’s been there for a while and g-got really bad all of a sudden just now. I’ve been trying to ignore it…”

“You should have told us.”

Nobody could argue with Minhyuk in this moment; there was no trace of humor in his tone, only seriousness. He clicked his tongue, and when Kihyun glanced back over, a slight frown tinged his lips. Loving concern flashed behind the visual’s eyes, but he also looked a little flabbergasted and terrified. At this Kihyun felt himself shiver. A hot, wet drop slipped down his face, and he protested, “But I can’t afford to slow down, Minhyuk-ah. I can’t. The tour is so important to us and I don’t want to let you guys down, or let Monbebes down…”

“You need to put your own health first, though. Yes, Monbebes will miss you on a concert date and we will miss you too, but you shouldn’t risk your livelihood in the future for doing things in the present.”

Kihyun shook his head. “I know, but we only have one American concert left...and I’ve never missed a stage in our four years as Monsta X.”

There was silence for a long moment as Minhyuk mulled this over in his head. He clenched his jaw and relaxed it a few times before finally continuing slowly, “Would you at least go to the hospital and get checked out? I'll be with you the whole time, I promise.”

As much as Kihyun didn’t like that idea, he couldn’t deny that he owed Minhyukie that. Also, his conscience nagged at him, and so he nodded a little.

“Alright, well...do you think you can walk the rest of the way back?”

“Yeah.”

The ghost of a smile returned to his Minhyuk’s face, and climbing to his feet, he reached out to help his friend up. A flash of gratitude went through Kihyun when he realized that the older man had offered his off-hand so Kihyun wouldn't have to use the arm on his wounded side as much. He pulled himself up, doing his best to not make his pain worse. Then, with their hands clasped, fingers intertwined, he and Minhyuk made their way to the hotel at a slower pace.

Minhyuk kept his word faithfully. He was the one who knocked on their manager's door and explained the situation; as they climbed into the car and drove to the hospital, he was still right at Kihyun's side. The gentle pressure of their interlaced fingers kept the younger man grounded the whole way. His eyes welled up with tears as the nurse who admitted them to the emergency room ran her fingers over the giant black, yellow, and purple bruise underneath Kihyun’s arm. He'd been hiding it, so it was strange to let someone else see, but his best friend's presence made things better. During the X-ray, Minhyuk couldn’t be in the room, but he promised Kihyun he’d be sitting right outside. Almost the moment the main vocal emerged, he was there, and their hands found each others' again. To anyone else, these might seem like little, insignificant things, but for Kihyun, they were everything. He was nervous about being in the hospital anyway; having someone by his side that was as close as a brother was a Godsend.

Sitting in the emergency room cubicle, waiting for the diagnosis, Kihyun sighed and bit the inside of his cheek. “I’m nervous.”

“I know.” One of Minhyuk’s signature smiles spread across his face, and he set a hand on Kihyun’s thigh. “You’re okay. It'll turn out alright, you'll see.”

A tight, breathless feeling overwhelmed Kihyun as he looked at his best friend, and all at once, hot tears were threatening to fall. He didn’t think he’d ever been more thankful for something than he was for that sunny grin at that moment. “Thank you, Minhyuk-ah.”

“Anything for my best friend.”

If Kihyun had been in better condition, he would have reached out and smacked the older boy. “Oh, shut up," he giggled; it hurt a little, but he could bear the pain.

“I’m serious though.” Despite Min’s sparkling eyes, it was obvious that again, he was telling the truth. "You're one of my closest friends, Kihyun, and don't ever forget it, okay?"

Just then, the doctor and their manager entered, and attention shifted to the former as he began to speak. The three Koreans in the room weren't fluent in English, but they had no trouble understanding what the man in the white coat was saying. The x-rays showed clearly that Kihyun had a fractured rib. The idea was terrifying, but it totally explained the pain he had been experiencing. "You're lucky that you didn't make it worse, especially considering you put strain on your body on a frequent basis. Not to mention, there's the added stress of not being at home. Right now, the thing you need most is rest."

Of course, when the physician inquired if they had any questions, Kihyun had to ask about the concert. He wanted to take part no matter what. Even though the doctor cautioned that it would be best if he didn’t and took it easy, that fire of determination still burned brightly within him. This was a longtime dream, and there was no way in hell he was missing it. Someone would have to tie him up or down to keep him from going on that stage, and they would have a hell of a fight on their hands.

From the way Minhyuk reached up to squeeze Kihyun's knee, the older boy also must have figured what was going through his head. He was familiar with the main vocalist's stubborn nature, so Kihyun wasn't all too shocked at that. The slight frown on Min's face also revealed that he probably had a few choice words to say about it too. However, he kept quiet, maybe waiting for a more opportune time.

Because the hospital staff didn’t think it was necessary for them to stay overnight, in the end, they found themselves back at the hotel. On the way, they picked up a prescription for strong painkillers. Kihyun was already plotting how they would be his saving grace at the concert. That thought could wait until later, though. For now, he focused on keeping his heavy eyelids open long enough to get himself to bed. Minhyuk, as always, was right by his side the whole time, keeping a close eye out for him as he did his nightly skincare routine.

Finally, Kihyun was snuggling under the thick duvet of the hotel bed. He expected Minhyuk to say his goodnights and duck out to get some rest too. Instead, he was pleasantly surprised when the mattress dipped with the weight of the other boy sitting on its edge. A gentle caress brushed the hair out of Kihyun's face, and one last time, he dragged his eyes open to see his friend sitting there, smiling softly. "Thank you again," Kihyun murmured, "For everything."

In response, Min nodded wordlessly and leaned over to place a gentle kiss on Kihyun's forehead. It was warm and soft and nice, and the vocalist drifted off into sleep with it imprinted on his memory, as well as the gentle pressure of a large palm rubbing his back.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope it was okay! Short but sweet amirite? Come yell at me on tumblr @floofsta-x or on twitter @floofsta_x0514!!


End file.
